Rewriting by Legislation and by Unrecorded Vote the History of thehing

On May 8 the House of Representatives passed by voice vote H.R. 5690, a
bill to remove the African National Congress (ANC) from treatment as a
terrorist organization for certain acts or events and to provide relief
for some members of the ANC regarding admissibility into the United
States. The passage of this bill identifies those whom our
Representatives on the left admire and are willing to help.

H.R. 5690 was sponsored by Representative Howard L. Berman (D-CA) and
had six co-sponsors - Representatives John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), Barbara
Lee (D-CA), Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX), Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Donald
Payne (D-NJ) and Peter Welch (D-VT). The bill states that for the
purpose of entry into the United States present and former members of
the ANC will not be inadmissible based upon either their membership in
the organization or their "anti-apartheid activities undertaken during
the 1948-1990 period of apartheid rule in South Africa." As far as
exempting the ANC from treatment as a terrorist organization, the bill
states that anything ANC members did before H.R. 5690 is enacted will
not qualify the organization for inclusion among the ranks of
terrorists.

A little historical background is in order. ANC was formed in 1912 to
advocate the increase of rights for black South Africans. This surely
was a laudable goal, as was resistance to the policy of apartheid, which
was implemented formally in 1948. But as the years passed, the
organization became increasingly enamored with violence until in 1961 it
created Umkhonto we Sizwe, a military wing intended to fight the South
African Government in a series of guerrilla campaigns.

The ANC Website acknowledges its revolutionary and military fervor and
"desire for radical change." It states, "Does this mean that before an
actual beginning can be made by the armed challenge we have to wait for
the evolvement of some sort of deep crisis in the enemy camp which is
serious enough to hold out the possibility of an immediate all-round
insurrection? Certainly not! We believe that given certain basic
factors, both international and local, the actual beginning of armed
struggle or guerrilla warfare can be made and having begun can steadily
develop conditions for the future all-out war which will eventually lead
to the conquest of power." And so ANC began its "all-out war" to seize
power in South Africa (all of it duly noted on its current website in
increasingly militant and racist language).